Raspberry Pi LTSP (Creating a Networked Classroom of Raspberry Pis)

Raspbery Pi-LTSP is a utility for Ubuntu that allows you to boot the Raspberry Pi over a network. It was created by Andrew Mulholland (@gb_aman1), an award winning inventor and Raspberry Pi expert.

Main benefits:

Networked users accounts - Just like any school network, students files are stored centrally on a main server meaning that students can logon to any Raspberry Pi and still have access to their files.

Software is installed on the server - All software (Including the raspian Operating System) is located on the main server meaning that the Raspberry Pis run more smoothly (Plus less space is needed on each SD Card - theoretically, you only need a 128mb SD Card)

Automated assignment collection - Students work can be automatically collected from each of their areas for marking (The teacher no longer has to plugin each of the students SD Cards into his/her laptop to retrieve their work.

Only need one SD-Card for each Pi - Because everything is stored on the server, you only need one SD Card for each Raspberry Pi. (No longer need SD Cards for every student)

Automatic updates - Software can packaged and installed direct from the server (No need for the teacher to flash every SD Card every time their is a new update)

Automatic backup - Students work can be backed up automatically from the server.

How does it work?

Raspberry Pi-LTSP is designed to plugin to a schools existing network however, if your network manager does not allow this, it is fairly cheap and easy to set up.

What you will need

Old desktop/laptop computer to act as the server (Must have at least 2GB RAM and a gigabit network card)

Network switch

Switch requires at least one gigabit or 1000/100/10mbit port for the server.

Router (I use an old BT Home Hub 2.0)

CAT 5 (Ethernet) cable (1 for the server and one for each of your Raspberry Pis)

SD card (One for each Raspberry Pi)

Installation and set up guide

Everything you need to install Raspberry Pi-LTSP can be found on Andrew's blog - http://pi-ltsp.net/

Screenshots

Tips

When installing Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi-LTSP, it is recommended that you have unfiltered access to the Internet!

I recommend setting up the Raspberry Pi server at home. That way, you are not going to hit any issues caused by your school's filtering policy - plus you can test your installation on one or two Pis at home, ironing out any bugs before unleashing it your whole class!